Pulp from the Other Side

Maybe this is something that's been obvious to everyone else since it came out, but when I watched Pulp Fiction again last week, it finally occurred to me the whole movie is about alternative perspectives. Rigorously, in every scene, in every piece of dialogue. The Quarter Pounder has a different name for people who use the metric system, Jules doesn't consider a foot massage sexual, Marsellus throwing Tony Rocky Horror out of a window for it is excessive. Marsellus Wallace doesn't look like a bitch,

The joke Mia told on Fox Force Five changes significance throughout the story due to perspective. Even whether or not it's funny changes in significance.

Fabienne says pot bellies on women are sexy--she doesn't say she thinks they're sexy, she says they are. She doesn't understand Butch's perspective on the gold watch, causing her to forget it. And on and on.

I've always loved the moment when Vincent screams at Jody to get a magic marker. It takes a writer with guts to even attempt a joke that subtle. I've always heard those felt pens called "magic markers" but you can see from Jody's perplexity that she's never heard the term before, and it's likely many people haven't, including people watching the movie. And if you didn't know what a magic marker is, just think about how strange it would be to hear Vincent screaming about it in that moment.

Last night, I watched Taxi Driver again, which is on Netflix here in Japan. There's a similarly, very subtle joke when Travis goes for coffee with Betsy. When he tries to tell her about wanting a sign that says, "Organizized", it takes her a moment to finally get the joke that the word, in this sign, is itself disorganised. But to indicate her understanding, she says, "Like those signs that say 'think'," pronouncing the "I" like an "E". And you can see Travis taking a pause as he realises her intelligence doesn't match the lofty position of the pedestal he's put her on.

How many people would have understood that joke when the movie came out in the '70s? Few, I'd suspect, but a lot fewer now. I know what she's talking about because my grandfather worked for IBM and he had one of those signs. She saw the sign and she overthought it, revealing she's not really solid on how the word "think" is spelt.

When was the last time a movie had that kind of courage? Maybe I just haven't noticed.

Twitter Sonnet #1618

A giant eel was waiting back at home.
A strong baton could break a skinny lock.
The growing bus was eating breakfast chrome.
Important meals construct a fighting rock.
The pretty trees obscured a lack of light.
The wise alone can see the absent beard.
Computers delved beneath the Earth to fight.
A billion makes a writer shun the weird.
The zombie day was capped with humid cars.
Forgotten feet returned to kick the hand.
The artist waits behind the brittle bars.
It's clearer now about the errant band.
The second time an "I" replaced an "E"
A vicious wasp destroyed a plushy bee.